HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – After five teachers didn’t return to work at Beachside Montessori Village in Hollywood, some students were forced to “work independently.”
Vanessa Cuomo, the mother of a Beachside Motessori Village student, said her 13-year-old daughter’s teachers for Algebra and Language Arts are not allowed to teach virtually.
“She is watching videos at home and teaching herself,” Cuomo said, adding “It’s unacceptable. This is not a third-world nation.”
Nelson Malhao is one of the Beachside Montessori Village teachers who are not being allowed to teach virtually. He said he is being replaced by a part-time teacher who will be able to work virtually.
“How is that fair to me? How is it fair to my kids?”
Anna Fusco, the president of the Broward Teacher’s Union, said this is Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie’s fault. She said he pressured teachers to return to the classroom prematurely despite having to deal with health conditions that put them at a higher risk of dying of COVID-19.
“This is egregious. This is malicious. This is arbitrary,” Fusco said.
Broward County Public Schools released a statement saying the district has to operate in compliance with the Florida Department of Education’s order to have students “return to face-to-face learning.”